Ultima IX Nitpicks - Valoria
Here you’ll find inaccuracies in Valoria and its corresponding dungeon Destard in Ultima IX. Ignorance of predecessors Words of Power In Ultima V, the Word of Power was used to open a dungeon from outside. Why won’t it work that way in Ultima IX? While it is explained in the game that the dungeon was sealed from the inside, but why would they seal it from the inside if it was meant to trap the dragons in there? Sealing dungeons In Ultima V, you could not seal the dungeons from inside. In Ultima IX, it seems to have worked with Destard. Sir Drake's knowledge How did Sir Drake figure out the Word of Power for Destard? In Ultima V, only two people knew it: Goeth, who went mad in the isolation of Jhelom and who spoke all words backwards so that nobody could understand him, and the Avatar, who got it out of Goeth nonetheless. Neither of them could possibly have told it to Sir Drake, because Goeth lived long before Sir Drake was born, and if the Avatar would have told it to someone, then we would probably would have noticed it. Knights of Valor So, the Order of the Silver Serpent have renamed themselves into “Knights of Valor”. There’s a small problem: the Order of the Silver Serpent strived for the whole principle of Courage; not only for Valor, but also for Honor, Sacrifice, and Spirituality. Technical shortcomings Eris' powers Eris has the ability to make an item appear just with the power of his mind. Powder keg Next to the Destard entrance, there lies a powder keg on the ground, which screams at you: “Blast the entrance open with me! Use me! Use me!” However, you can’t use powder kegs in Ultima IX. Geoffrey's rapid arrival It’s quite strange that Geoffrey has already arrived in Valoria instantly after the Avatar has cleansed the Shrine of Valor. If all of the Avatar companions had not been exorcised from the Guardian’s influence until the respective Shrine was cleansed (as in Katrina’s case), then Geoffrey did the following while the Avatar walked the few inches from the Shrine back to Valoria: Found his way out of Destard. Wandered to Britain through the Deep Forest and across the Serpent's Spine. Talked to Lord British, and asking what happened in the last years. Acquired a ship. Sailed to Valoria. How did she know? After you’ve done everything in Valoria, Raven says she heard that Lord British was searching for the Avatar, but she was alone on the Silver Hart all the time. Signal fire The “signal fire” is pointless because you just see Raven’s ship after lighting it. Reckless entrance After the Avatar has discovered the second entrance of Destard, he simply jumps down. Wouldn’t it be much safer to use a rope? Then he could later on leave the dungeon the same way as he entered it. Happiness in slavery Even after you have slain all guards and reopened Destard, the slaves in the mines don’t even think about getting out. They happily continue mining gems and don’t want to be disturbed. You get very little thanks for saving them. Useless defense The wooden spikes protecting the road to the fort against the daemons are useless, since they'll just lower with the press of a button. Daemons are far more intelligent than any human (according to previous Ultima lore), but we are expected to believe that they aren’t smart enough to push a simple button to get access to the fort? The inner gate doesn’t look very daemon-proof either. General problems Why do they stay? Why don’t the inhabitants of Valoria just move away if they are worried about the demons that much? Don’t they even dare to walk outside of the keep? This wouldn’t be very meaningful, because the daemons could invade the keep through the big opening of the volcano every time. Daemons How comes the daemon simply appears in midst of the town center? If the daemons are capable doing so, and if they always intended to steal the Dagger of Valor, then why then haven’t they invaded the town long since? Reunion with Geoffrey In Valoria, Geoffrey breaks his own record of lacking will to talk from Ultima VI: He only says he is going to stay in Valoria, and then the conversation is over. Lazy Guardian The Guardian just kills the Valorian mage Meranthon before the eyes of the Avatar, out of the blue, without any problems. If the Guardian is really that vile and evil, then why doesn’t he kill all of the Avatar companions, including Raven? Dagger of Valor You have to wonder what the three daemons wanted to do with the Dagger of Valor. As soon as they get it into their possession, they just wait for the Avatar to kill them. Trimuvirate The daemons’ origin is meant to be in the Age of Darkness. If we believe Ascension, then the triumvirate is even older than the Guardian. However, the daemons are just killed without any trouble in a simple swordfight. Shrine and moongate No way that the Shrine of Valor and the moonstone survived the eruption of Valoria’s volcano. Why are the shrine and the moongate still there? Sealing of Destard Lots of problems with the sealing of Destard: (Note that we must consider that the second entrance was most certainly not used.) How could the people of Dawn be deported to Destard when the dungeon was closed? How could the cultists and Wyrmguards get into the dungeon? How do the Wyrmguards leave the dungeon, and how can the deal with Talornia (dragon eggs for the Guardian) actually be handled? Why do they mine gems in Destard when they can’t get them out anyway? How do the people in Destard survive? * Hacki's Ultima Nitpicks - hosted by Bootstrike Category:Ultima IX Nitpicks